It was one of Hollywood’s biggest bombs in the 1980s. Some 30 years later, however, “Xanadu” explodes onstage at the Westwego Performing Arts Theatre in all its madcap, campy glory. And what irresistible fun it is.

Based on the 1980 flop film starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly (how could that pairing have missed?), the musical adaptation of “Xanadu” became a surprise Broadway hit in 2007 due to its pleasant, bubblegum pop rock score, and a tongue-in-cheek script that presents a show that is so cheerily self-aware of its own cheesiness.

Courtesy of JPASEdward Simon and Tiffany Jones star in the musical 'Xanadu,' now playing at the Westwego Performing Arts theatre.

Its story centers on an ancient Greek Muse coming from Mount Olympus to Venice Beach, California, to help a graffiti artist realize his dream of achieving the apex of artistic expression – opening a roller disco. Call it “Clash of the Titans with Saturday Night Fever.”

Along with the retro score by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar that will embed itself into your brain for days afterward, the show’s strongest asset is that winking script by Douglas Carter Beane, one of the American theater’s most sardonically witty playwrights. He tells the goofy little story well never pretending that it is anything other than what it is meant to be – pure, cotton candy entertainment.

The Jefferson Performing Arts Society is closing its season with the local premiere of “Xanadu,” in a rollicking production that captures that zippy spirit of light-hearted delight.
Director Dane Rhodes has assembled an appealing cast to give it that just right touch.

In the lead roles, Tiffany Michaela Jones and Edward Simon are well paired, sharing a cute, summer romance kind of chemistry.

As the Muse Clio (in her earthly persona known as Kira with an Aussie accent), Jones is sweetly cute, looking like an angel dropped to earth wearing the signature pink legwarmers (ah, if only Achilles had done the same!) and roaming the Venice boardwalk on roller skates. Jones has a natural sense of comedic timing, and also has that pleasant soft rock/pop soprano voice in the style of Newton-John.

XANADU

What: the Greek Muse Clio descends from Mount Olympus to Venice Beach, Calif., in 1980 to inspire a struggling artist to create a roller disco. The musical features music by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar and a book by Douglas Carter Beane, based on the 1980 cult classic film. Edward Simon and Tiffany Jones star; Dane Rhodes directs.

When: Performances at Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., through May 20.

Tickets: $30, $27 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children. Call JPAS 504.885.3000 or visit the company Web site.

Simon plays Sonny Malone, the artist with disco dreams, with a charming air-headed earnestness. He is totally a creature of the ’80s, in day-glo gym shorts, knee-high tube socks, and hair parted down the middle. Along with his solid pop baritone voice, Simon adds a hunky slice of beefcake to the role.

It’s not often that one can say this, but the camp factor of “Xanadu” is so high that Vatican Lokey offers the most sober, understated performance of the proceedings. As the villainous (or is he?) land developer, Danny Maguire, standing between Malone’s hopes of opening the roller disco, Lokey’s deadpan approach is reminiscent of a scheming Lionel Barrymore. A flashback to a lost love scene shows a softer side, and in his dual role as Zeus, the campy fun rises to Olympian levels.

Beane takes liberties with his interpretation of ancient Greek mythology, all to rich comic effect. (Indeed, the name of the show itself comes not from Greece but China, via Samuel Taylor Coleridge.) Only seven of the nine Muses are seen onstage, shout outs given from the stage to the missing Polymnia and Urania.

It is the Melpomene of Brian Peterson who just about steals the show. Looking like a drag queen’s vision of Diana Ross, Peterson plays Clio’s wicked sister (making way for a killer rendition of “Evil Woman”) with unabated glee, vamping and cackling his way through the show. Tara Brewer is Melpomene’s scheming sidekick, Calliope.

Rhodes keeps the show rolling as a sharp pace. Brewer’s choreography is dynamic and reflective of the time; however, for all the promotion of the disco-on-wheels musical, there’s quite little actually done on roller skates. Jonne Dendinger elicits a full, robust sound from the compact JPAS Broadway Pit Orchestra.

Catch the silly fun of “Xanadu” while you can. Following its run this weekend in Westwego, JPAS will take the show to Covington and Meridian, Miss.